21. oktober 2003

No "please" in Parliament Norwegians are sometimes perceived as rather rude and impolite. Sometimes it is, I have to admit, a correct perception. The Norwegian language really has no word for "please." Yes, there is a phrase "vær så snill" (lit. "be so kind"), but that is more accurately translated "pretty please with sugar on." For normal conversation, it is used sparingly, to put it mildly. Another example: If you want to move past somebody in a crowded place, there is a perfectly normal world for "excuse me" ("unnskyld," which also doubles for "sorry") but it is rarely used in this context. The cultural equivalent is using your elbows to push whoever it is out of the way. Yes, I said we were rude. So, when Norwegians learn English, they may know the syntax and the words, but they typically forget the cultural norms and do not apply the polite terms. I have often reminded my countrymen and -women that when you order something in a bar or shop, the word "please" should be treated as compulsory. It is "one beer, please" not "give me a beer!" (typically pronounced "bear" but that is another story). Australian member of parliament Karlene Maywald has obviously learned all this, and asked a question about water restrictions to the relevant minister. "Can the Minister please advise the House when he will make public the framework?" Speaker Peter Lewis immediately censured her use of language: "The word 'please' is to beg, no honourable member in this place needs to beg any minister for anything, least of all an answer," he said. Ms Maywald then sought a further clarification. "I spend most of my time outside this house (parliament) insisting that my daughter use the word please when asking a question," she said. "And I wonder whether or not is it against standing orders to use the word please?" "Explicitly," Mr Lewis replied. He said that had been the case for 300 years of parliamentary practice. Thanks a lot, Mr. Lewis. I thought I knew how this worked. Now you've just have all us foreigners confused again. 11:27:10 PM    comment []  trackback []

The Matrix, gender bending and a dominatrix Not much is known about the creators of the Matrix trilogy, Larry and Andy Wachowski, but what Wired writes about them in this FAQ make them look more like movie characters than movie makers.  10:50:08 PM    comment []  trackback []

Eurocrat: Waterloo Station "offensive" A particularly tonedeaf British Eurocrat and senior member of the European Investment Bank has argued to change place names in Britain that the French may take offense at. Francis Carpenter wrote in the French newspaper Le Figaro that it would be in the interests of European harmony if "offensive" British names commemorating battles lost by the French were eradicated from places such as Waterloo Station. Mr Carpenter suggested a "more European theme" was required. "Gare de Londres" perhaps? Or "William the Conqueror Integrated Transport Facility"? As if the Brits aren't euroskeptical enough as it is. 8:05:28 PM    comment []  trackback []

IRA has decomissioned arms The provisional IRA in Northern Ireland has taken the greatest step so far towards total disarmement, it was confirmed today, as the largest stock of weapons so far has been put beyond use. At the same time, the IRA and its political counterpart Sinn Fein has issued statements that just stops short of declaring the armed struggle completely over. In some of the strongest words the Sinn Fein president has used in support of the peace process, he said Sinn Fein was "opposed to the use or threat of force for any political purpose". Mr Adams said: "Sinn Fein wants to see the guns taken out of Irish society." An election has been scheduled for November 26. 6:35:39 PM    comment []  trackback []

Dilbert Weasel Awards The result of the Dilbert Weasel poll is in, and the 2003 awards go to: Weaseliest Organization: RIAA Country: France (runners-up: USA) Corporation: Microsoft (runners-up: Haliburton) Profession: Politician (runners-up: lawyer) Individual: George W. Bush (runners-up: Michael Moore) Behaviour: Blaming fast food restaurants for making you fat No award for weasliest cartoonist. Heh. 6:02:14 PM    comment []  trackback []

Witch sponsored by state Norwegian Lena Skarning (picture, with her white (!) cat) is a witch, and now she's come up with the idea of developing her little magicks into a business idea. She wants to sell her advice to businesses. The new thing is that she has received support from the State Development Fund (NOK 53,000; ~$7500) to develop this idea. So what does she plan to offer? - Businesses can receive consultations about better unity and increased creativity. For example, there are some days that are better for meetings than other days. That is related to planetaric magic. In addition, choice of colours can work wonders for creativity, among other things. She also claims to have a lot of other ideas, including creams for clearer thoughts and better dreams, and a foot cream 'to dare to walk different roads.' I think I have too many scruples to succceed in business. Or maybe it's the result of some planetary magic. (From a Norwegian article in TV2 Nettavisen) 2:37:57 PM    comment []  trackback []

Mother Theresa: a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud Christopher Hitchens is not one who pulls punches. He wrote a less than flattering biography of Mother Theresa, The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, and.now that the Pope has beatified her, he writes a scathing comment in Slate. This returns us to the medieval corruption of the church, which sold indulgences to the rich while preaching hellfire and continence to the poor. MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction. And she was a friend to the worst of the rich, taking misappropriated money from the atrocious Duvalier family in Haiti (whose rule she praised in return) and from Charles Keating of the Lincoln Savings and Loan. Where did that money, and all the other donations, go? The primitive hospice in Calcutta was as run down when she died as it always had been—she preferred California clinics when she got sick herself—and her order always refused to publish any audit. But we have her own claim that she opened 500 convents in more than a hundred countries, all bearing the name of her own order. Excuse me, but this is modesty and humility? Awarding her the Nobel Peace Prize was one of the absolute low points in the prize's history, and saying that is saying very much indeed. 2:19:48 PM    comment []  trackback []

UAE minister chastises Arab media for Iraq war coverage Information Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, opened Dubai's Arab Media Summit by chastising the Arab media for telling pleasant lies instead of the hard truth, and mentioned their suppression of facts on the real nature of Saddam Hussein's regime. "Before the war our Arab media did not reveal the reality of the Iraqi regime," the minister said accusing them of failing to portray "the repression and terrorism" of Saddam Hussein's Baath regime which declared war on Iran and invaded Kuwait. "Arab media ignored this reality and ... even dealt with the regime as if it was on the right path and presented the crisis and a conflict opposing western forces against an Arab regime ready to fight in the name of Arab dignity and sovereignty." [...] Abdullah urged Arab media "not to inflame emotions but to enlighten the audience" and stressed the need for a "qualitative leap". "The Arab public deserves the truth," he said. The speech reportedly initiated a heated debate. One can hope it also leads to some introspection. 3:03:44 AM    comment []  trackback []

Embryo sex differences are genetic It has for some time been agreed that the sex changes that develop in the embryo are due to hormones pumped out by the male's testes shortly before birth. New evidence has now shown that many changes to the embryo brain happen much earlier, around midway through gestation, and that these changes are due to genes that make the male and female brains differ at an early stage. Halfway into a mouse pregnancy, before the testes have even formed, the activity of 51 genes is different in males and females, says Eric Vilain of the University of California, Los Angeles. His team analysed 12,000 brain genes. The discovery hints that unknown genes hardwire our gender - perhaps influencing the way that men and women think, tackle problems or perceive themselves. "It's an indication of differences really, really early on," says Vilain. "It shows up genes you'd never have thought of," says Bruce McEwen, who studies brain development at Rockefeller University in New York. "It's very provocative." It is not controversial only because it shows that fundamental brain differences between the sexes are hard-wired, but also because of its implications for transexuality and even homosexuality. Vilain speculates that the brains of males who feel that they are female, or vice versa, may have a pattern of gene activity that resembles that of the opposite sex. "These individuals might be partly explained by gene differences in the brain," he says. Some local news sources have reported the finding as conclusive evidence that "genes make people gay" but that is a premature conclusion on the available evidence. Vilain, however, points to the consequences for such a conclusion. Vilian warns though that finding the exact gene that results in homosexuality will require considerable more research.  He said that if future research does determine conclusively that homosexuality is genetic and not a choice, the implications would be huge. "If it's not a choice, you can't have the typical conservative argument that says you choose this lifestyle so you have to bear the consequences and society has no reason to basically give you any rights because you choose to be an outcast," Vilain said. It is a often-used argument, and one could be tempted to stay mum because this would be a desirable outcome. However, I can not accept this line of argument. It is a dangerous argument that can backfire if we automatically conclude that whatever our genes do to us makes a course of action morally right. For example, we can easily see genes playing a role in making humans selfish or violent. That does not make it morally right to act in a selfish or violent way. Genes probably predispose us for inclinations that cover the entire spectrum from morally wrong through neutral to morally right. Genetics can not and should not replace thoughtful ethics. What such evidence does refute is the claim from religious fundamentalists that homosexuality is a "choice" and a "lifestyle." Even if it was, the burden is upon them who make charges of immorality to prove their point, and then, referring to ancient, ambiguous holy books will not do. However, if the evidence finally falls down on the side that people are born gay, it at least provides gays with the argument that may have some impact on the religious: God made me this way. 2:24:28 AM    comment []  trackback []

Hospital workers get own lane for sweet kissing Employees being driven to work at St Olav's Hospital in Trondheim, Norway, are getting their own lane for getting out of the car and kissing, to avoid crowding at the main entrance that could hinder ambulances. The new kiss-and-drive lane is clearly marked by pink hearts (picture). On the opening day, representatives for the hospital, health authorities and the state road administration turned up to see if anyone gave their loved ones a farewell kiss in the designated place. Those that did kiss, received sweets. I am not making this up! 12:31:45 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.11.2003; 03:20:33.